“They are going to upload some photos of our president, in Paiporta collecting mud after the Dana, do not open them or see them, it will ‘hack’ your phone in 10 seconds” (sic). This states a viral WhatsApp chain by which you have asked through the chatbot from Maldita.es (+34 644 229 319). The message refers to the Pedro Sánchez’s visit to Paiporta last November 3, one of the towns affected by the passage of the DANA. in Valencia.
It is a hoax. The message that is shared provides no proof of what it claims and is the same as others already disproved by Maldita.es. In fact, a similar chain has already been denied. at the time of the Morocco earthquake in 2023. or that of Japan in early 2024. In addition, since the National Cybersecurity Institute (INCIBE). already assured Maldita.es that this type of message “is usually a hoax”.
The chain circulates without evidence and INCIBE assures that this type of message is usually a hoax.
The message that is circulating, a text string, also adds that the hack “cannot be stopped in any way” and that on TV they would have warned about these alleged photos being shared via WhatsApp. However, we have not found any reference in the media, official sources or cybersecurity agencies about the alleged malicious file that you hacks your device in just a few seconds.
The chain invites you to share the alert with your family and friends, but does not provide any proof of its veracity. In addition, INCIBE assured Maldita.es that this type of message “is usually a hoax”.
Another hoax about a supposed ‘hacking’ in the cell phone.
This is not the first time that a very similar chain has circulated. From Maldita.es they have denied several WhatsApp chains warning of an alleged malicious file. that can hack your phone in as little as 10 seconds. All these texts follow the same structure and the only thing that changes is the name of the alleged file. For example, at the beginning of 2024 it was already reported that photos of the earthquakes in Japan and Morocco could hack your cell phone, although it was a fake. If we compare that string with the one circulating now, we can see that the structure and some sentences are practically the same:
In 2023, from Maldita.es they also clarified that. some photos of the earthquake in El Calvario, Colombia. they could not hack your cell phone. A few years earlier, in 2020, they disproved the hacking with alleged photos of the Chile’s Chillán volcano. And in 2018, they told that it was false that some photos of the peak of Orizaba (in Mexico). could infect your cell phone in a matter of seconds. It is a hoax that has been going around for years and has been denied several times by the security forces.
During the COVID-19 pandemicIn addition, this type of chains were also disseminated via WhatsApp with names referring to different countriessuch as “Mexico did it”., “India is doing it.” o “Argentina is making it.”. But neither INCIBE nor the authorities consulted at the time were aware of these alleged malicious files.
Likewise, these types of messages also reach and circulate in other countries. For example, Checkeda fact-checking media from Argentina, which is part of the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), denied that when you download some photos of the Cariaco earthquake in Venezuela, you will get hacked the phone in 10 seconds.
In short, it is a hoax that some photos of Pedro Sánchez, president of the Government, collecting mud in Paiporta (Valencia) can hackearte your cell phone in 10 seconds.